Hay-fork



2 Sheefls-Sheet 41'.

.0. :W. ROBERTSON.

(No Model.)

HAY FORK.

No; 357,037. Patented I'eb. 1, 1887.

N. PETERS. Phnlolilhognpher. WanMngkm. n.c;

(No Model.) 2 SheetS Sheet 2. C. W; ROBERTSON.

HAY FORK.

Patented Feb. 1, 1887 N PETERS. Phmouthngraphul. waihinglnm D C UNITED ST TES PATENT @FFI E- CHARLES W.- ROBERTSON, FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN.

HAY-FORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent n6. 357,037, dated February 1, 1887.

Application filed March 5, 1883'. Serial No. 87,129. (No model.)

to enter and to release the hay more readily and quickly than those constructed in the usual manner.

To this end it consists in a peculiar form or curvature of the arms, and in looking and tripping devices connected in a peculiar manner.

- ends bowed inward toward each other.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side view of my fork in an operative position; Fig. 2, a like view showing the same in its open position; Fig. 3, a vertical section through the locking and tripping devices; Fig. 4, a diagram illustrating more fully the peculiar curvature of the arms.

A and B represent the two arms or hooks connected at their upper ends by a transverse pivot-pin, a, and having their lower pointed The pivot-pin is mounted in the lower end ofa link or clasp, 0, having two side plates with an intermediatespace containing a finger, c, and latch d. The latch d is provided with a hole to receive the end of the finger 0, over which it may be engaged to hold the same in a horizontal position,-and is also provided with a cord, 6, of any suitable length, by which it may be operated to release the finger.

D represents a rope by which the/fork issuspended and carried, provided at the lower end with an eye or ring, g, to engage with two chains, h, extending to the respective arms midway of their length, or thereabout, and in this ring 9 is hung a link or eye, 9, to engage the finger c.

In operating the device the arms or prongs are thrust into the hay and closed together, .the eye 9 of the rope slipped upon the finger c, and the latter secured by engaging the latch thereon. When thus connected the strain of the rope causes the arms to be held in the closed positiomthe chains remaining slack. When it is required to discharge the hay, the line e is pulled, thereby unlocking the latch d from the finger c and releasing the latter from length of six units.

the rope D, whereupon the weight of the hay causesthe arms to open and release it, the arms swinging on the ends of the chains as fulcrums and assuming the position represented in Fig. 2.

The curvature of the arms and the manner of determining the same is clearly represented in Fig. 4. Each arm comprises four distinct arcs of circles, designated in Fig. 4 as i j, j k, k Z, and Zm, respectively. The are 13 comprisingthe tines proper, has a radius of fortyone and one-halfunits and a length of nine units. The are j lc, embracing the main curve or bend, has a radius of eleven units and a The arc is I, embracing the shank or body of the hook, has a radius of forty-six units and a length of eight units. The are I at has a radius of twenty-three units and a length of three units. 'The centers from which the arcs k Z and Z m are described and the point Z are in line, or substantially so.

In practice it is found that the arms constructed with substantially the curvatures above described will enter the hay and discharge the same easily andquiokly, and that, unlike those constructed in the usual forms, they will remove the top of a load or mass without disturbing or scattering the remainder.

Owing to their peculiar form the arms may be placed upon or thnust slightly into the hay in an open position, and then connected with the draft-rope, which will act to cause the arms to close together into the hay as they are raised. As the points of the hooks are nearer to the pivot than the points j of said hooks the tendency of the hay interposed between the points of the hooks would be to travel down the inclined curves toward the points and the upward draft of the rope will cause the points of the hooks toapproach each other as the weight of the hay resists the lift of the rope D.

To avoid the danger of the latch d being unlocked accidentally,lprovide the fingerc on one I ICC gram that the curvature of the arms is such that they gradually approach the center, their inner ends or points being nearer the center or pivot than the outer ends. This is an important feature, in that it insures the automatic closing of the arms when the frame is 2. In combination with the arms A. and B, lifted with the points in engagement with the the link 0, chain p, the lifting-rope provided mass of hay between them. with the eye or ring, the latch d, and the finger Having thus described my invention, what a, the latter being provided, as shown, with I claim i=-- the friction-spring, whereby it is retained in 1.- A hay-fork consisting, substantially as engagement with the latch. before set forth, of two curved arms or hooks CHARLES W. ROBERTSON.

than the distance between said pivot and the points j, whereby a lifting action exerted at the pivot will tend to close the arms and force a load held between the points of the hooks i down the inclined curves toward points j.

pivoted together at one end and terminating Witnesses: at the other end in the are ij, the distance be- 1 E. A. GALLOWAY, tween the pivot and the pointsi being less O. L. ALLING. 

